Ann’s Arty Attempts

So pretty and ...happy.and I love how you do those fabulous textures - subtle but noticeable & effective. Some parts I feel like lifting up the edge with my fingernail : )
Thanks, Jen. I can’t help having happy pics and that’s why I will never be considered a good artist. Not enough angst and anguish in my pics. Just can’t do despair. Here comes another one....
 
Flower Frenzy 2
Procreate, iColorama, Photocopier, Snapseed
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I don’t know ... Pro Hart seemed to do okay? Ken Done.? Matisse, Kandinsky? Others?
You’ve chosen some interesting artists there, Jen. You are right, they are bright and probably mostly happy. Which is encouraging. Kandinsky is generally a lot more abstract than mine. I’d love to compare myself to Matisse :notworthy: :lol:although saying that I don’t like all his stuff. The other two are Australian and I didn’t know them at all. I don’t really like their stuff. Feels very childish to me.

So then that opens a can of worms which I suppose you are trying to do. What makes somebody a good artist? Generally they seem to be very prolific. Is it because they really promote themselves? I am neither of these. I also don’t have a style. The one time I won an HM was when I gave the judges what I knew they would like and not what I liked.

And actually do I really care? Maybe if I had started all this off in my 30s I would want some form of recognition that my art was worthwhile and we all want a little bit of that but to be honest I want to do stuff that I enjoy and it’s good to have a goal of always trying to improve but further than that I suppose I’m happy in my own little world. Do I want to go out and promote myself and have exhibitions? Nah. I’m retired, time to sit back and enjoy the easy life. :)
 
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I feel of late that I have neglected my arty stuff for more traditional photography and it becomes more difficult to pull something out of the bag because I have forgotten the apps.
I can relate completely.... I feel like I "lost my mojo" a long time ago... :confused:
But since you seem to be always creating something wonderful.... I say this to you: :tongueclosed:
 
You’ve chosen some interesting artists there, Jen. You are right, they are bright and probably mostly happy. Which is encouraging. Kandinsky is generally a lot more abstract than mine. I’d love to compare myself to Matisse :notworthy: :lol:although saying that I don’t like all his stuff. The other two are Australian and I didn’t know them at all. I don’t really like their stuff. Feels very childish to me.

So then that opens a can of worms which I suppose you are trying to do. What makes somebody a good artist? Generally they seem to be very prolific. Is it because they really promote themselves? I am neither of these. I also don’t have a style. The one time I won an HM was when I gave the judges what I knew they would like and not what I liked.

And actually do I really care? Maybe if I had started all this off in my 30s I would want some form of recognition that my art was worthwhile and we all want a little bit of that but to be honest I want to do stuff that I enjoy and it’s good to have a goal of always trying to improve but further than that I suppose I’m happy in my own little world. Do I want to go out and promote myself and have exhibitions? Nah. I’m retired, time to sit back and enjoy the easy life. :)


I wasn’t trying to open a can of worms (although to an extent that’s probably inevitable with such discussions?). Your statement that your art by default is ‘happy’ and that you/your art would ever be considered good because you ‘can’t do despair’, and/or ‘not enough angst & anguish’ in your work — it was too broad a sweep to leave alone :p. I’m also interested that the work of Ken Done, another famously ‘happy’ artist, doesn’t speak to you at all. (Btw his work became so taken up by fashion and interior design that I wonder how he’s classified these days)

I think my relationship with art is similar to yours in some ways: mainly that the joy of it for me is purely personal. I’m rapt when other people like it, and I’d be beside myself if I ever won a category in the various comps (I know that I’d have to submit an image first), but bottom line art is for me.

I don't know how it fits for you, but when I look at you as an artist I also think of you as a teacher. You have all these video tutes- and what you share here and in live classes and groups. That capacity and willingness to teach, share your mastery of the tools of the trade (just now apps, but as RoseCat has pointed out many times it could be use of particular types of brushes, canvas, mixes of paint, techniques of sketching..) that says ‘good artist’ to me.
 
Here’s the flow:

Original:
3546103A-70C0-4E4D-AFD2-113CBBCF8FD2.jpeg


I go into CleverPainter and keep most of the image quite rough except the flowers:
7469F264-E93A-4B81-A778-FD4BECC40CFD.jpeg


Then I take the original into iColorama and use Style>Edges>1 with Overlay on and size at 50%. I use Adjust>Exposure>Contrast to reduce some of the small detail. I also take away some shading using Brush>Paint.
AD206838-6B5C-4192-942E-B3861815515F.png


To make the existing lines a bit stronger I blend the above sketch with itself and use Multiply. Then I go to Style>Coherence>1 with opacity reduced to 70%. Then Adjust>ToneLab>4 to make it a bit stronger again.
C5DFC197-B356-4D0F-8593-8BC0E4CB2AF1.png



Next into Artomation using colour sketch to give it a sketchy look.
14588A0A-5F38-4312-90A6-F9317AE36CAC.jpeg


I blend this back with the CleverPainter version using Multiply removing with the brush any lines I don’t like:
E1C98DC0-9A9F-4A8B-ABCE-342B336DAB23.jpeg


Finally I put the original on top and reduce the opacity to get a little more detail back, brushing away any parts of the original which are too strong:
FB68D153-88FB-4492-882B-0FC2000E50E0.jpeg


In Snapseed I added a slight vignette.
 
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Here’s the flow:

Original:
View attachment 144713

I go into CleverPainter and keep most of the image quite rough except the flowers:
View attachment 144707

Then I take the original into iColorama and use Style>Edges>1 with Overlay on and size at 50%. I use Adjust>Exposure>Contrast to reduce some of the small detail. I also t away some shading using Brush>Paint.
View attachment 144708

To make the existing lines a bit stronger I blend the above sketch with itself and use Multiply. Then I go to Style>Coherence>1 with opacity reduced to 70%. Then Adjust>ToneLab>4 to make it a bit stronger again.
View attachment 144710


Next into Artomation using colour sketch to give it a sketchy look.
View attachment 144709

I blend this back with the CleverPainter version using Multiply removing with the brush any lines I don’t like:
View attachment 144712

Finally I put the original on top and reduce the opacity to get a little more detail back, brushing away any parts of the original which are too strong:
View attachment 144711

In Snapseed I added a slight vignette.
Gorgeous. And a lovely concise and easy to follow tute. You’re marvellous.
 
Here’s another one using the same technique above but it didn’t work out quite as good - a bit boring so I put a Glaze version on top with reduced opacity and then surprise, surprise, Hipstamatic gave it a watercolour look (Frosty Lens + Tilda Film + Purple Raindrops Gel Flash). I upped the saturation a bit in Snapseed.

12C2D0E3-31AC-4792-9248-A0888FC0EBB1.jpeg
 
Here’s another one using the same technique above but it didn’t work out quite as good - a bit boring so I put a Glaze version on top with reduced opacity and then surprise, surprise, Hipstamatic gave it a watercolour look (Frosty Lens + Tilda Film + Purple Raindrops Gel Flash). I upped the saturation a bit in Snapseed.

View attachment 144714
Super. A lovely water colour effect. The eye being sharper is perfect.
 
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Way time I added something to this:
View attachment 144706

CleverPainter, iColorama, Artomaton and Snapseed
Here’s another one using the same technique above but it didn’t work out quite as good - a bit boring so I put a Glaze version on top with reduced opacity and then surprise, surprise, Hipstamatic gave it a watercolour look (Frosty Lens + Tilda Film + Purple Raindrops Gel Flash). I upped the saturation a bit in Snapseed.

View attachment 144714
These are both just lovely!
 
They have a vulture feeding programme here at Safari Lodge. The reason is because vultures are endangered due to the fact that rhino poachers are poisoning dead rhino carcasses to eliminate vultures who are giving away their position after a rhino has been poached.

The Feed: They have a viewing stand quite close to the area the meat is thrown down but it's still difficult to get close, sharp images with an iphone even with the Moment Tele together with the x2 zoom. I used the shutter priority option in Camera+2 with a quick shutter speed and I think the images were slightly sharper than using auto mode in Procamera. In the end I felt that a manipulation was the way to go.

I concentrated on the vultures flying in and it was a bit potluck.

IMG_7253.PNG

Watercolour. Apps: Snapseed, Retoich, Procreate and iColorama
 
Moth

View attachment 148897

Found this lovely moth on the carpet last night although quite a bit different from the original!

Snapseed, iColorama, SuperPhoto, Eraser
Strangely, we found one on the floor last night. I didn’t think to photograph it before I put it outside. Doh! *slaps forehead* :D Lovely edit Ann. You’ve given the wings and irridescence.
 
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